1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety razors in general and, more particularly, to wall mountable holders for safety razors.
2. Background Information
Modern safety razors comprise a razor cartridge mounted to a handle. Some modern safety razors, especially those marketed for women, may be sold with a wall mountable holder so that the razor may be conveniently stored close to where it is used, for instance on the wall of a shower or bathroom.
Many existing wall mountable holders fall into three broad groups. In a first group a holder of bifurcated construction takes advantage of characteristics of the razor shape to suspend the razor. Many razors are generally T-shaped or at least have one end, most usually the razor cartridge itself or razor cartridge end of the handle, wider than the opposing end of the handle. In this first group a pair of horizontally spaced arms extends from a wall mounting structure and simply suspends the razor from the wide part of the razor and with the widest end, usually the cartridge end, at the top. Examples of this first group include holders disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,158 to Kertzman; U.S. Design Pat. No. D,333,583 to Hurd and U.S. Design Pat. No. D,294,903 to Pokorny. In a second group a simple cup extends from a wall mounting structure and the razor is simply placed in the cup, usually with the razor cartridge end of the razor at the top and facing out of the cup to prevent the razor blades of the cartridge contacting any internal part of the cup that might cause damage to the razor blades and result in an uncomfortable shave or lead to nicks and cuts for the user. Examples of this second group include U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D,464,222 and D,423,845 both to Coffin et al and U.S. Design Pat. No. D,370,375 to Murgida. In a third group a single prong extends from a wall mounting structure and this prong mates with a recess or hole in the handle to suspend the razor. In this group it is convenient to position the hole or recess in the handle at the handle end opposite the razor cartridge, consequently the razor is suspended with the razor cartridge end of the handle at the bottom. Examples of this third group are disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D,277,434 to Iten and U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D,495,179 and D,494,795 both to Bunnell et al.
In a new type of razor, a relatively large body of erodable shaving aid material is further mounted to the handle and may surround the razor cartridge. The shaving aid body softens when exposed to water for extended periods and its wear rate is dramatically increased relative to the wear rate of a non-softened shaving aid body. Consequently the useful life of the shaving aid is greatly reduced which may lead to customer dissatisfaction. A softened shaving aid body is also highly susceptible to damage if the razor is accidentally dropped. Furthermore, this new type of razor is customarily provided with a protective cover. The protective cover conveniently protects the razor cartridge and shaving aid in travel but may act to retain moisture or water vapor in the vicinity of the shaving aid body that will prematurely soften the shaving aid body and result in an increased wear rate.
A disadvantage of holders of the first and second groups when used in conjunction with a razor of this new type is that the razor is stored with the razor cartridge at the top and water may not adequately drain from the razor after use. This may prevent the shaving aid body from adequately drying between uses. A disadvantage of holders of the third group when used in conjunction with a razor of this new type is that the holder's mating to the razor occurs in a region of the handle away from the razor cartridge and shaving aid body. Consequently it is possible the user of this type of holder may store her razor with the protective cover in place as there is no adjacent interfering structure to prevent this. This can be seen in FIG. 6 of Iten '434 where it is clearly shown that the razor holder is distantly spaced from the razor cartridge part of the razor, shown in broken line therein. The protective cover will retain moisture or water vapor in the vicinity of the shaving aid body that will prematurely soften the shaving aid body. A further disadvantage of holders of this third group is that the holder's functional feature is a prong. This provides less positive retention of the razor than holders of the first two groups. If the razor is accidentally bumped it may tend to fall from the holder.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a wall mountable holder for a safety razor that will provide improved drainage for the razor; will only permit a razor to be retained without a protective cover and that will provide improved retention of the razor if the razor is accidentally bumped.